Mystery girl
by JerlitaFanGirl
Summary: After the gang finally shut down X.A.N.A, they tried to live normal lives again. Just then, a mysterious new girl named Katherine shows up. What is she hiding? And will Odd make a dangerous choice to save her? JxA, UxY, OxOC
1. Chapter 1

I sat impatiently in my Dad's car, waiting for him to drop me at this so called "excellent" school. He kept on lecturing me about how I need to improve my grades and be on my best behavior. He also told me that I needed to stand out and become more outgoing.

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Katherine Rousseau. My hair is dark brown, and my eyes are hazel, just like my mom. My mom passed away a year ago, due to some type of illness. My dad has been struggling to raise me by himself. When my mom was living, I used to dress in fancy dresses and shirts, but now that she's gone, I just dress in baggy T-shirts and sweatpants, mostly to hide my curvy body.

My dad has tried to be the mom-figure in my life, but it never worked out. My mom would hold me in a tight embrace and stroke my hair whenever I was sad, and wouldn't it be weird if my dad had done that?

I got kicked out of my last school for getting into a fight. They claimed that I started it, but I was wrongly accused. They say I smashed her head into a vending machine, but come on, who in their right mind would actually do that?

Anyways, my Dad enrolled me into a school called, "Kadic Academy." He tried telling me that it was a great school, and that my mom would be proud of me if I did good at this school. I would do whatever it takes to make my mom proud.

Finally, after what seemed like decades, my dad pulled up to the school. He glanced at it once, then looked at me with a sheepish grin.

"See, honey, this school looks in fine condition!" he exclaimed, opening his door and stepping out and trotting to the trunk to retrieve my suitcases.

"Stuck up, is what it looks," I muttered bitterly, taking off my seatbelt and opening the car door. Stepping out, I slammed the door and went to join my dad in the back. He handed me three of my suitcases and gathered the remaining four.

He seemed to teeter slightly, but then regained his balance. He smiled and walked off towards the entrance of Kadic as if nothing happened.

"Wait," I called out, causing him to whirl around. "Where do you think _you're_ going?" I asked while tugging on the back of his shirt and yanking him back gently.

He shot me a confused glance as he pointed towards the school. "I'm going to go see your principal," he explained. "I believe his name is Mr. Delmas. I hope I remembered that clearly."

I rolled my eyes and put on a smirk. "Alright, lead the way."

[*]

Regular POV

It has been roughly a week since the gang defeated X.A.N.A and shut him down once and for all. Sissi seemed to cool off of them a bit, due to the fact that they finally let her join the group. Although the world was out of danger again, the Lyoko warriors were bored out of their minds. All they did now was go to breakfast, lunch, class, dinner, and bed. Fighting X.A.N.A was entertaining for all of them, including Jeremie, even if he didn't exactly go on Lyoko to fight.

They all sat down on their usual bench, trying to think of an interesting topic to chat about. Besides Lyoko and school related things, there was nothing else to really talk about. Strangely, Odd couldn't even think up a brilliant joke to tell, since most of his jokes were X.A.N.A related.

Just then, their eyes all shifted to the direction of a strange looking young girl. She wore a black baggy T-Shirt with black sweatpants. She seemed awkward and lonely, as if she had no friends. She and her father went into the Administrative building, and the gang thought she had to meet with Mr. Delmas.

"Say, don't you guys think the new girl is a bit... weird?" Odd asked, staring off into the direction that the girl departed to.

Aelita shook her head, ready to defend the new girl. "She's probably just shy. After all, she is at a new school."

"Yeah, Aelita's right. We shouldn't really judge her before we have a chance to see what she's like," Yumi chimed in, glancing around the group.

"I guess you're right," Odd admitted, a slight smirk playing on his lips. Aelita narrowed her eyes and glared at Odd as if she were looking right into his devious little mind.

"What are you thinking?" she questioned, although she had a feeling that she knew what he was going to say.

"I'm going to introduce myself to her," Odd confessed as he chuckled mysteriously.

[*]

Katherine POV

Okay, this school seemed as if it was a snotty, rich, stuck up school full of nerds and computer geeks. There was absolutely no way I could or would fit in here. I just can't figure out why my dad kept on insisting that I go here. I mean, all he did was take one look at the school, _one _look, and just assumed that it was a good enough school for me.

As we walked towards the principal's office, I turned my head to scan the area, but when I did, I noticed a group of kids gawking at me. Two girls, three boys. One girl had pink hair, and the other looked Chinese. One of the boys had a weird teardrop hairstyle, the other looked like a geek, and the last one looked slightly better than the other two boys.

But why were they looking at me? It was as if they wanted to come over to me and slap me. I simply turned my head the other direction and followed my dad into the principal's office.

Once we reached the building, we went into the secretary's office. She was a blonde lady with glasses, sitting at her desk. She glanced up at us angrily, as if we had done something wrong to her.

"We are here to see Mr. Delmas," my dad explained politely. My dad was always nice. In fact, he was _too _nice. It kind of scared me. You could snap on my dad thirteen different ways, but all he would do was smile and laugh.

"Are you Mr. Rousseau?" she asked, a slight waver in her voice.

"Yes."

"Alright, go on in," she finally said, her gaze suddenly shifting down to her paperwork.

My dad gave her a quick thank you and scurried into Mr. Delmas's office.

Once we entered, I saw a man playing a game on the computer at his desk. He was _so_ into the game that he hadn't even noticed that we entered the room. I bit back a snicker as my dad knocked on the door, letting the man know we were in the room. He stopped what he was doing and glanced up. Embarrassed, he turned his attention away from the computer and focused on us.

"Ah, you must be Katherine Rousseau," he acknowledged, holding his hand out for me to shake. "I'm Mr. Delmas, your new principal."

I shook his hand firmly before withdrawing my hand shyly. His grip was firm and strong. I waved my hand around to eliminate the pain.

"Do you have her application with you, sir?" he asked, to which my dad nodded and handed my application over to him.

"Alright, let me show you to your room, and I'll give you your schedule soon," Mr. Delmas informed.

"Thank you, sir," I muttered.

I had a feeling that today was going to be a crazy day.


	2. New friends and an enemy

"And this is your dorm," Mr. Delmas said as he led my father and I down the hallway of the Girls' dorm. As he flung open the door, I took notice of the color. It was very peachy, yet suitable for me. I guess I could say that it was just my style.

Mr. Delmas reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. Handing it to me, he said, "This is your dorm key. Whatever you do, do not lose it. I'm afraid I've run out of spare keys."

I nodded in understandment as I retrieved the key and stuck it in my pocket. I watched sadly as he began to walk away with my father. Suddenly, my father whirled around and came back to me. Reaching in his pocket, he mumbled, "this was your mother's." He pulled out a silver heart-shaped locket. It was really gorgeous, and I'm not just saying that because it was my mother's.

He opened my hand, placed the locket on my palm, and then closed my hand. I looked down at my hand and smiled as my dad kissed my forehead and bid me goodbye. Once he was gone, I opened my hand and opened the locket. Inside was a photo of my mom and I about a year before her death. She was smiling as if she had never been sick, and I was smiling as if I never knew she was sick.

I put the necklace on around my neck and clutched it tightly. Whatever I had to do, I had to protect this necklace. It was the only item I had that reminded me of my mother.

I went into my room and shut the door, locking it. I really didn't want anyone to barge in and pester me at this moment. Now that I got a close view of my new room, I decided then that it was very bright and a little too bright for me. It wouldn't hurt to change the bed sheet. After all, I did bring extra blankets.

I unzipped my suitcase and rummaged through the clothes. I probably shouldn't have packed my whole wardrobe because now it would just take me longer to unpack. After I put all the clothes away, I picked out the cream-colored bed sheets that would go with the peachy room color. Grimacing, I ripped off the bright blankets and replaced them with my own. I scanned over the room, and then finally decided that I couldn't possibly do more damage to it. I tapped the screen on my touch screen phone to bring up the home screen and then glanced at the time. I could tell that it was well near dinner time.

I glanced down at my outfit. It looked as if I had just gotten out of bed! A quick wardrobe change wouldn't hurt. I hastily rummaged through my drawer and picked out a layer of clothes. Scattering them across the bed, I carefully examined them to see which one was appropriate enough to wear. Skirt with tank top, no. Skirt with plain T-shirt, no. Finally, I picked out a black T-Shirt with black skinny jeans and black converse. I wasn't sure why I liked black so much. Perhaps it was just a catchy color.

I put all of the unwanted clothes in my drawer and headed out to dinner. As I entered the hallway, realization hit me like a gust of wind that flies into your face. I didn't know where the cafeteria was. I mentally slapped myself profusely. How could I not even ask where the cafeteria was? I sighed, turned around and then began to lock my door.

Suddenly, a tap on my shoulder caused me to turn around suddenly. _So _suddenly that the person behind me jumped. It was that pink-haired girl that was gawking at me earlier. Since I hated when people stared at me, I tried to walk around her, but she grabbed my arm and pulled me back. I glared at her, and I thought I saw her flinch for a second.

"Yes?" I demanded coldly, glaring at her.

She was taken aback by my sudden demeanor that she bit her lower lip. "Um, I'm Aelita," she mumbled, extending her hand out towards me to shake. She looked as if she wouldn't hurt a fly, so I hesitantly reached out and shook her hand. She seemed to lighten up a bit, so I abruptly pulled back.

"Well, I'm Katherine. So, can I help you with something?" I asked impatiently. I really didn't feel like talking to anyone, so I tried to speed up this conversation.

"I was just heading to dinner, and since you're new here, I thought you would like me to show you where it is," she explained hesitantly. She kept fidgeting, and I could instantly tell that she was nervous. Why was she so nervous? It wasn't as if I was going to hit her.

I gave her an assuring smile as I nodded thankfully. "Thank you, I would appreciate that."

She smiled in return and ushered me outside. She ranted about Kadic, the teacher's, the dorm rules, and other important things that I failed to listen to. Why were smart people, like her, always trying to make things seem so simple? All I asked was for her to bring me to the cafeteria, not try to start up a conversation with me!

At least she was trying to make an effort to become my friend. Other people wouldn't even have tried at all. She seemed friendly, and I felt as if I could trust her. I found myself daydreaming, so I shook away my thoughts and focused on what I was doing.

After what seemed like ages, we finally reached the cafeteria. She held the door open for me and ushered for me to go in. I obeyed, not wanting to start a riot over who had to go in first.

The cafeteria was packed. There was nowhere to sit, apart from the two available seats at a table by some windows. Unfortunately for me, the table was occupied by those same kids that were staring at me earlier. It was as if fate was pulling us together!

I followed Aelita into the line. She handed me a tray after getting her own tray. I don't understand this. Why was she being so nice to me if she didn't even know me? I had trust issues ever since my last school. I had a feeling that if I trusted anyone again, I would just get hurt again.

After I collected the side foods and put them on my tray, I went up to the lunch lady. She smiled warmly at me and told me to hold my tray out. As I did, she dumped some type of beef on my plate.

"You must be the new girl," she said happily. "Well, I'm Rosa."

I acknowledged her with a simple nod before pushing my tray down. I've only been in here for at least three minutes and I already wanted to go back to my room. Aelita led me to her table and smiled at her friends.

"Hey guys," she greeted a little too cheerfully. "This is Katherine."

"Hey," they said in unison.

Aelita pointed to her friends and said to me, "This is Yumi, Ulrich, Odd, and Jeremie."

I just nodded and sat in between Aelita and Yumi. Wow, now I kind of regret meeting them. They all seem so boring! Aelita and the geeky one, I think his name was Jeremie, just kept on ranting about physics and science related stuff, while the others just silently ate their food.

If something interesting didn't happen soon, I would explode with boredom. As if my wish has been granted, some girl walked up to the table along with two nerds. She glared at me as if I had done something evil.

"Excuse me, new girl, but you are in my seat," she spat, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

Her voice was nasally high pitched and annoying. In fact, it was _so _annoying that I wanted to get up and just whack her in the throat. Maybe that would change the pitch of her voice.

"I don't see your name on it," I retorted, glaring her down. Who did she think she was?

"Sissi," the teardrop-haired boy started. "Can you just cool off?"

Sissi? Even her name seemed stuck up. She glared at me coldly before walking off with her two nerds. Wow, she acts as if the whole world revolves around her. Last time I checked, she wasn't in charge around here.

"Who _is _that?" I demanded angrily, looking back at Sissi.

"She's the principal's daughter," the cuter one, Ulrich, explained. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it. She likes to start drama."

"Well, she's starting drama with the wrong person," I murmured, picking at my food. When I came here, I was starving, but now that Sissi came here, I've lost my appetite. I looked across the table to see Odd quickly chowing down on his food in a hurry. I grimaced at the mess he was making. Yumi saw me and snickered slightly.

"Oh, it's okay. He always eats that fast," she reassured.

Everyone but Odd and I nodded in agreement. Odd ignored everyone and continued eating his food furiously. I don't know why I kept staring at him. It was if my eyes were attracted to him...

_What is wrong with you, Katherine? There is no way you could be falling for this pig!_

I mentally shook myself, trying to pull myself out of these thoughts. If I didn't leave soon, I would regret it. I was unsure of what would slip out of my mouth, so I excused myself from the table and went to throw out my tray.

As I walked out of the cafeteria, I contemplated deeply. Who was Odd, and why was he so… attractive? Sure, Ulrich was the cutest, but somehow he wasn't my type. I was only interested in funny, self-centered yet caring guys. Odd seemed self-centered, and the way he was eating made me laugh, but…

I sighed as I walked up the flight of stairs that led to the Girls hallway. I needed to sleep off this boy stress. The last time I took interest in a boy, he broke my heart. I couldn't fall for the same trap again, so I had to avoid Odd.

As I unlocked my door and tried to step in, a hand tapped my shoulder again. I whirled around and was about to snap until I realized who it was. It was Aelita again.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Handing it to me, she explained that Mr. Delmas gave her my schedule to give it to me.

I accepted the paper gracefully and placed it in my pocket.

"Thanks Aelita," I thanked her with a grin. "Goodnight."

"Good night," she replied before heading to her dorm.

As I showered and went to bed, my entire day flashed before my eyes. Even though I said it was going to be a bad day, the day was actually good. I had made one enemy, yet I made five new friends just that quick. I clutched my locket firmly and my hands and smiled. Tomorrow was going to be a great day, too.


	3. The classroom incident and the secret

The next day started off slowly. I showered and got ready for school. I wore a white tank top with white Capri's and white flats. Yes, girly, I know. I read over my schedule and realized that I didn't know where any of my classes were. Seriously, wasn't I supposed to get a tour?

I figured that maybe Aelita could show me to my classes. After all, she showed me where the cafeteria was yesterday. She was actually very helpful. Most of the snotty kids here were self-centered and stuck-up, much like Sissi.

I meandered out of my dorm and went over Aelita's room door. I rapped on the door and waiting for her voice on the other side. Receiving no response, I twisted the door knob to open the door, but it was locked. She probably went to her class already.

_Great, now I'm going to be late for class._

I sighed and made my way out of the building. I didn't know where I was going, but it was better than being cooped up in my room. Hopefully there was a teacher wandering around the campus. Perhaps they could help me.

Luckily, I spotted Odd and Ulrich sitting at a bench a few distances away. I quickly dashed over to them and waved like a preppy cheerleader. Why was I so cheery in the morning? Could it be because of Odd?

"Good morning, guys," I greeted hesitantly, out of breath.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Odd asked, eyeing me suspiciously. When I finally caught my breath, I handed them my schedule. They accepted it and scanned over it in confusion.

"It's my schedule," I explained. "I don't know where those classes are."

The two suddenly began to smile, but Odd's smile was wider. I stared at him in both suspicion and confusion. Were they plotting something? Just in case they were, I backed up a few steps.

The two then started snickering, and something inside me snapped.

"What are you two laughing at? There's nothing wrong with my schedule, is there?"

Then they got serious, and Odd shook his head violently.

"You're in our class!" he exclaimed happily. I cackled at the sight of him being so… gleeful. I caught myself and cleared my throat.

"Let's head to class," I said as I pulled them up to stand and to lead me to class.

Once we reached class, I saw Aelita and Jeremie sitting near the front row, and Ulrich and Odd took their seats near the back. After the bell rang, the teacher, Mrs. Meyer, placed me next to Sissi.

I imagined myself slapping Sissi repeatedly, and I immediately regretted that because it resulted in me laughing out loud. The teacher glared at me angrily, so I frowned and watched as she began to start her lesson.

Approximately thirty minutes into class, I had already learned about Linear and Non-Linear functions. Suddenly, my head began to throb violently, and unexpectedly, I let out a yelp.

Everyone gawked at me in concern, but mostly Odd. Some of the glances were sympathetic, while the others were just concerned.

Mrs. Meyer stopped her lesson and looked at me carefully. "Are you okay?"

_Do I look okay?_

I shook my head and groaned loudly. I don't know why my head was aching so badly, but I just wanted it to end. This usually happened when I was about to faint, but I didn't feel like fainting. I heard a slight ringing in my ears, so I held my hands to my head in an attempt to make it stop. I raised my right hand up in the air and asked, "Mrs. Meyer, can I go to the nurse?"

The teacher nodded and pointed to Odd. "Odd, escort her to the nurse," she ordered.

Odd stood up and walked over to me. I stood up and walked towards the front door. Suddenly, the world seemed to fade away. My knees buckled, but Odd managed to catch me. The last thing I heard before I blacked out was Odd shouting my name.

[*]

I awoke to a brightly-lit room. When I opened my eyes, I immediately regretted it and shut them. Who on earth would make a room so bright? A moment later, I decided to try again. I slowly opened them and allowed the sunlight to pierce my eyes. That only increased my headache, so I squinted. I saw a blonde lady with short hair standing by the counter a few steps away from where I was laying. Her back was to me, but I could somehow see that she was looking at a pill bottle. I shut my eyes and groaned, telling her that I was awake.

"Open your eyes, dear," she commanded. Even though I was awake, I opened my eyes to see her standing over me. She smiled and went over to the blinds to close them. I sat up a little too quickly, and my head began to swim viciously.

"Whoa, easy there," she said, pushing me back down gently. She went back over to the counter, got a thermometer, came back, and then stuck it in my mouth.

"Put that under your tongue," she ordered. Not wanting to start trouble, I obeyed her and leaned back.

"If you're wondering what happened, you fainted in your class. Your friends Stones, Belpois, Stern, and Della Robbia brought you here. I've sent them back to class, even though they insisted on staying here," she informed, retrieving the thermometer from my mouth and going back over to her desk. She came back with a pill and handed it to me. I accepted it in confusion.

"You have a fever of 101.4 degrees, so take that pill and you will need to stay in bed for the rest of the day. I will inform all of your teachers of your condition, so will you hand me your schedule, please?" she asked, handing me a glass of water. I took the pill with the water, and when I was done, I handed her my schedule. She smiled and nodded.

"Alright, you can go now," she said, going back over to the counter. I thanked her and carefully stood up, not wanting to faint again. I exited and walked outside. I had to admit it, the warm air felt better than the freezing class room. I inhaled the air and exhaled it. It smelled like warm air.

I couldn't believe that they came to check on me. Maybe they were my true friends after all. I caught myself smiling, but this time, I let it happen. I let a tear escape down my cheek. I didn't bother to wipe it away. I haven't cried since my mother's funeral.

"Katherine!" a voice called from behind, startling me. I whirled around to see Odd bolting towards me.

What was _he _doing here?

"Odd?" I said to myself, looking at him. Wasn't he supposed to be in class? Did he skip or what?

When he finally approached me, he gasped, trying to catch his breath. He mumbled something quietly, so I just stayed silent. He glanced up at me and repeated what he was saying. "Are you okay?

"Am I okay? I'm fine, but are _you_ okay? Why aren't you in class?" I interrogated, sounding like a concerned mother. I mentally chuckled at that. Here I was referring myself as being Odd's concerned mother. He finally caught his breath and faced me.

"Yes, I'm okay. I just wanted to check on you, so I asked the teacher to go to the infirmary because I wasn't feeling well," he clarified, eyeing me up and down to see if I was going to pass out again.

So Odd cares about me? No one has ever really cared for me apart from my mother and father. I shook those thoughts off. Odd didn't care about me at all.

Did he?

"Well, I'm alright," I reassured gently, patting him on the shoulder. Seeing as though that was the wrong move, I withdrew my hand and tensed up. Why did I always make the wrong moves around boys?

I noted Odd's inconvenient behavior towards me. He seemed to fidget with his hands, look down at the ground, and look everywhere but into my eyes.

"Odd, is it alright if I ask you a question?" I asked him, staring him down.

"Sure. What's up?" he asked back to me, still not making eye contact with me.

"You wouldn't happen to have feelings for someone, would you?"

He froze. I knew it was the wrong question, but I had to ask it. I know I was risking our friendship, and I was increasing my chance of rejection, but I would rather know the truth than keep silent. He glanced around nervously, as if thinking of a lie to tell me.

"Yeah," he finally admitted after a few seconds. "I have a crush on this girl."

"Oh," I responded, although I wasn't finished interrogating him. "What is she like?"

Now I knew for a fact that he was uncomfortable with the question. He seemed uncertain about answering, so he simply stared at me. I couldn't hide it; I had a crush on Odd. He was funny, sweet, cute, kind, and caring. If he liked me back, I would be so happy. But something told me he didn't return the feelings.

"Well," he started off hesitantly. "She's really pretty."

_That's such a lie. I'm hideous._

"Oh, that's it?" I asked, stepping closer to him.

Odd sighed in defeat and nodded. "I like you, Katherine. You're different. You seem self-conscious about yourself, although you're really pretty. You seem to have this really cool personality, and…" he trailed off, a slight blush forming on his cheeks.

"Go on," I ushered, satisfied with what I was hearing.

"You seem to like me for me. You don't judge anyone but yourself. When you first came here, you seemed weird. I thought you were hiding something, but I didn't know if you were. I know that it's wrong to judge someone off of appearance," he admitted with a small smile.

I sighed. "I am hiding something. It's a family secret, but I want to tell you and the rest in private. It's just a story about how I developed trust issues and low self-esteem," I confessed in a low tone while looking down at my feet.

Odd's eyes widened as he eyed me. "Y-You… Have trust issues?" he asked, shock flooding his face.

I nodded slowly. The truth had to come out. "I was betrayed by my best friend and my crush. I was bullied by them, and I got expelled from my old school for fighting."


	4. Confession Part One

(A/N: The words in italic is Katherine telling her story to the gang!)

Regular POV

The bell rang, signaling the start of the lunch period. The students of Kadic emerged out of their classrooms, eager to arrive to the cafeteria and get their share of the lunch before all of the food became scarce.

Everyone went from the classroom to the cafeteria, but four curious friends didn't. In class, Odd excused himself to go to the infirmary, much to the group's surprise. The only time any of them asked to go to the infirmary was when X.A.N.A was attacking, but they used the infirmary excuse as a lie to get out of class.

The group met up at their usual bench, discussing about the classroom incident. It was surprising news that Odd would take off during class, but at the same time, it wasn't so surprising.

"Maybe he left class to go check on Katherine," Yumi suggested, adjusting her bag from her left shoulder over to her right. Jeremie simply shrugged and pushed his glasses up with his pointer finger.

"Or, maybe he left to go power on the super computer," Jeremie said, a hint of anger wavering in his voice.

Ulrich shook his head in disagreement. There was no way Odd would do that without consulting his friends first.

"I disagree. He would tell us why he would want to do that, and besides, he has no reason to."

Ulrich texted Yumi a few minutes after Odd had walked out of class. She didn't text back, due to the fact that she didn't want to get caught and end up with detention. But she did manage to read the text message.

"Maybe he went to his room to sulk," Aelita guessed, shrugging her shoulders.

"Let's go check," Jeremie said, trotting away with the group lagging behind him.

Once they reached Odd's dorm, they knocked on the door. A few seconds later, they heard, "come in!" on the other side. They obeyed and entered the room. Katherine was sitting on Odd's bed, petting Kiwi, while Odd was sitting next to her. Jeremie and Ulrich went over to Ulrich's bed, while Aelita and Yumi went over to Odd's bed.

"You guys are just in time," Katherine mumbled, looking up at everyone.

"Just in time for what?" Aelita asked curiously. She sat criss-crossed on the bed and faced Katherine.

"She's going to tell us a secret," Odd explained quickly, shushing everyone in the room. "Okay, you can begin Katherine."

Katherine inhaled deeply as she clasped her hands together once.

"Alright. It all started when I was seven."

[*]

"_Mommy?" Seven-year old Katherine called to her mom, Aubrey, who looked at her daughter in response._

"_What's wrong, my angel?" Aubrey asked, stroking her daughter's hair in a motherly-manner. They were lying on Aubrey's bed, holding each other warmly in a mother-to-daughter embrace._

"_Remember when you told daddy that your time was almost up? Well, what did you mean by that?" Katherine asked innocently, sitting up and looking at her mother innocently. Aubrey sat up also and looked back at her daughter._

"_Honey, were you eavesdropping on mommy and daddy's conversation? That's not nice," Aubrey scolded lightly, rubbing Katherine's back. Katherine nodded in agreement and opened her mouth to speak, but abruptly shut it._

_Aubrey glanced at her daughter as a warm smile played on her lips. "Were you going to say something?"_

_Katherine nodded timidly as she leaned forward and embraced her mother tightly. Aubrey, surprised, hugged her daughter back._

"_I was going to say that…" she trailed off, pulling back and looking down at her palms. Aubrey's smile faded as she cupped her daughter's face in her hands._

"_Tell me," she demanded gently, growing slightly impatient with her daughter withdrawing secrets._

_Katherine sighed. "I heard daddy say something about a funeral for you. Mommy, where are you going? Are you leaving me?" she questioned hastily, her eyes widening in sadness. "Mommy, please don't leave me."_

"_No, honey, stop thinking negative," her mom spoke gently, although her voice cracked slightly. She embraced her daughter once again, holding back tears. Aubrey knew she was going to die, but she wasn't sure when. Her cancer was much more aggressive this time, and it could not be beat. There was no simple way to tell her daughter that she was dying of Leukemia._

"_I need you to be a strong girl for mommy. Do you promise?" Aubrey asked, holding out her pinky._

"_Yes, mommy, I promise," Katherine vowed, wrapping her pink around her mother's pinky._

[*]

(A/N: It's short, I know that. But I have to go. I'll update tomorrow, I vow to it.)


	5. Confessions Part 2

_Katherine, now age 13, was at her old school, sitting at her desk. She had arrived to class early, so it was just her and her best friend, Mandy Brown. The classroom had a vending machine in it, which was a bit strange. Katherine was writing out math drills for extra credit, while Mandy was texting some of her friends. Ever since Katherine began talking to Dimitri, her crush and best friend, Mandy has been acting a little rude and distant._

"_Hey, why don't you stop being such a math geek and come chill with me?" Mandy asked in a rude tone, causing Katherine to drop her pencil and whirl around in surprise._

"_Um, Mandy, that's not funny," Katherine remarked, glaring daggers towards Mandy._

_Mandy simply rolled her eyes and snickered at how lame Katherine was being. She shifted her attention from Katherine back down to her phone and mumbled something slick, and fortunately, Katherine didn't understand it, so she turned around and focused on her Math Drills._

_Just then, Dimitri trotted in, looking completely __fatigued. He was out of breath and sweltering, and he looked as if he would pass out any moment._

_Katherine gasped and jumped up to help him, but Mandy hastily beat her to it. She held onto Dimitri's arm and rubbed his back in a soothing manner._

"_Dimitri-Kins, what's wrong?" she asked, seeming as if she didn't care at all._

_Katherine narrowed her eyes and examined the two. She knew Mandy had a crush Dimitri, but Katherine liked Dimitri too._

"_I had to run to school. My bus has left," he explained, struggling to catch his breath._

_Katherine shoved Mandy aside and embraced Dimitri, even though he was soaked with sweat. "Poor baby."_

_She escorted him from the front of the classroom and to the back of the classroom, and then she helped him sit into the chair. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a bottle of water._

"_Here," she offered, handing him the water bottle. "Drink this."_

_He obeyed and winked at Katherine, much to Mandy's jealously. He gulped the water down in sips first, and then gulps. He drank it so fast that Katherine was afraid that he would drown. After a few moments, it was empty. Katherine took it from him and threw it away._

"_Thank you, Kitty Kat," Dimitri thanked her with a wide, toothy grin._

_Katherine blushed and dismissed it with the wave of her hand. "No need to thank me. I'll do anything for you."_

_Those words slapped Mandy so hard, and it pushed her to the limit. Something inside of her snapped._

"_Enough!" she shouted, scaring the daylight out of Dimitri and Katherine. They stared at her in confusion, wondering what her problem was. She seemed to be fuming, and she breathed so hard that Katherine swore that she saw fire emerging from her nostrils._

"_Dimitri, you know that I have liked you since second grade, and yet you have a crush on this…" she trailed off, trying to think of an insult._

"_On this what?" Katherine asked, stepping dangerously close to Mandy, who didn't even flinch or cower away in fear._

"_How can you have a crush on this string bean? I mean, look at her! She's disgustingly skinny, her eyes are too light, she's pale, and her hair is doo-doo brown!" Mandy snapped, gesturing to Katherine's hair._

_Katherine's eyes welled up with tears as she clenched her fists. How could her best friend betray her this way? They had known each other since fifth grade! Mandy didn't seem like a good friend because true friends don't insult other friends._

"_She's got a point," Dimitri agreed, walking over to Mandy's side. Great, now Dimitri switched sides too? How could he do that to her? He took her to the school dances, he walked her home, and he even admitted that he liked her! Now he was taking Mandy's side?_

"_This is why I can't trust people," Katherine whispered so they wouldn't notice how her voice was cracking._

"_Face it. He's mine," Mandy stated, pushing Katherine back, nearly causing her to fall onto a desk. Mandy held Dimitri's hand and took a final glance before walking away with him. Katherine wasn't about to sit by and let a girl steal her crush. Without thinking, she charged towards Mandy, knocking her to the ground. Katherine climbed on top of her so she wouldn't run away and immediately began to pounce on her. Mandy yelped and shielded her face from Katherine's powerful fists. Mandy managed to shove Katherine off of her and pull her hair, resulting in a scream from Katherine. Dimitri, not knowing what to do, simply stood there. It looked like they weren't going to stop fighting, so he bolted to the principal's office to inform him of the fight._

_Katherine gained control and literally dragged Katherine away from the desks so she could use it as a weapon. She began dragging her towards the vending machine, mainly because she didn't know it was there. Mandy saw an opportunity for freedom, so she drew her leg back and extended it forcedly, whacking Katherine in the face. Katherine yelped and let go of Mandy, causing her to go free. Katherine covered her face to try to lower the pain, but she felt herself flying backwards. Mandy had pushed her into the vending machine, causing it to shatter, but not break. Katherine moaned in pain as she rubbed her back and face. Mandy smugly grinned and walked away, but Katherine grabbed her foot and pulled on it, causing Mandy to fall. Katherine wanted revenge, so she got on top of Mandy and yanked her hair._

_Unfortunately for Katherine, the principal and two security guards barged in and quickly grabbed her, holding her in a firm grip._

"_What on Earth is going…" his attention shifted from Katherine and Mandy over to the shattered vending machine. His eyes widened as he covered his mouth with one hand and used the other to point to the vending machine._

"_Who has done that?" he asked calmly, or at least tried to stay calm._

_Unexpectedly, Dimitri and Mandy pointed an accusing finger towards Katherine, who gasped in surprise._

"_I didn't do that!" she defended herself. "It was-"_

"_She slammed my head into it. I didn't do anything wrong to her!" Mandy lied, feigning tears._

"_Mr. Lard, she's lying!" Katherine said through gritted teeth. Why didn't anyone believe her?_

"_Save it, young lady! You are coming with me!" the principal spat, ushering Katherine out of the room in an angry motion._

[*]

"_I am very shocked at your behavior, Ms. Rousseau. I have informed your parents about your actions, and they are on their way. However, I am sorry to say this, but you are expelled from this school," the principal informed sadly. Katherine's face went from pale to dark red. How did she get suspended? Sure, she started the fight, but she didn't break the vending machine!_

"_What? I didn't even start the fight! Why should I get expelled?" she questioned angrily, slamming her fists on the desk._

"_Well, for one, you've damaged school property, and you have fought, and from what I recall, that is strictly against school policy," the principal pointed out in a calm voice. How could he be so calm when he was getting yelled at?_

_Just as he was about to answer, there was a knock at the door. "Come in," he said, allowing whoever it was to come into the room. The door swung open, revealing a very furious-looking mother and father._

"_Do you care to explain why you've been expelled?" Katherine's father, Cameron, asked, crossing his arms. Katherine's mother, however, stood there calmly, although she was exploding on the inside._

"_It wasn't my fault, Dad," Katherine defended herself again. Wow, even her father didn't believe her._

"_But-"_

"_Get in the car, young lady!" her father snapped, marching out of the room._

[*]

*Back in the dorm*

Katherine concluded her story as she grabbed a tissue out of the box next to her. She had been sobbing her eyes out as she told the entire story. By now, her eyes were swollen, her face was red, and her nose was running.

Fortunately, Odd kept a box of tissues under his bed just in case Kiwi made any droppings in the room. So far, Katherine used up three boxes.

"Wow, that's a tragic story. I can't believe all of that happened to you," Yuma remarked sadly, wiping away an incoming tear.

Katherine sighed and tossed her used tissue into the garbage bin next to the bin. Odd was holding her sympathetically, rubbing her back.

"At least you didn't tell Mr. Delmas that you got expelled for fighting," Odd said with a relieved smile.

"Yeah, good thing no one mentioned that to him," Katherine agreed, snickering slightly.

But what they didn't know was that Sissi was eavesdropping on the other side of the door, recording their entire conversation.


	6. Unexpected

Sissi sat on the top of her father's desk, grinning maliciously. She had played the recording to her father, hoping to finally bust the gang and to get rid of Katherine.

Mr. Delmas pressed play on the record player and listened closely.

"_At least you didn't tell Mr. Delmas that you got expelled for fighting." _He recognized that the voice belonged to Odd Della Robbia.

_"Yeah, good thing no one mentioned that to him." _He instantly realized that it was Katherine's voice.

He pressed stop and set the record player down on the desk. He sighed and rubbed his temples. "Well, I have to admit, I am a little shocked that Mr. Rousseau failed to inform me that his daughter was expelled for getting involved at a fight from her former school. I will call him and have him verify this information. As for you, Elizabeth, I suggest you head on over to your room and study for the test you have to make up tomorrow morning," Mr. Delmas said, picking up the phone and dialing Katherine's father's number. Sissi's evil grin turned into a goofy grin. She got off of the desk and backed out of the room in embarrassment.

Finally! Sissi had _finally _got the group into trouble! She couldn't wipe the smile off of her face because she knew she had earned the right to have it on her face. She wanted to share the news, so she sauntered over to the group, who were sitting on their bench, and simply stood there with that goofy grin. The group peered at her, bewildered as to why she had approached them with a smirk.

"May we help you with something?" Ulrich inquired, glaring at Sissi.

Sissi chortled before turning away. She shook her head in disappointment as she marched away, but then she shouted over her shoulder, "Ulrich dear, it sucks to be you and your friends right now!"

The gang flashed each other baffled expressions. What did she mean by that? For a minute, Jeremie was terrified that someone had found out about the supercomputer, but then he brushed it off, hoping it wasn't true.

"What does she mean?" Katherine demanded, glaring at Sissi's retreating form.

"I'm not sure, but whatever it is, it's not good," Ulrich replied bitterly. Yumi swore she saw a black aura swarm around Ulrich, so she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Ulrich. Maybe her brain is fried from hanging around Nicholas and Herve!" she joked, causing the gang to erupt into snickers. Suddenly, Jim approached the group, and judging by his facial expression, the gang knew they were in for it.

"You six are in _huge _trouble," Jim warned angrily, yanking Jeremie up from his seat on the bench. "Come with me!" he demanded, ushering the six of them to the principal's office.

Sissi watched the whole scene from her spot near the vending machine. She cackled uncontrollably at her evil plan, resulting in strange glances from kids walking by.

"Nice work, Sissi. You've finally managed to catch them," Herve praised, a stupid grin spread across his face. Sissi's laughter came to a halt as she smacked Herve dead in the face, knocking his glasses right off.

"You dork! I've caught them many times in the past… I think," she added, walking away in a huff.

[*]

The gang arrived to the principal's office, extremely baffled. They were contemplating about all the things they could have done wrong to get them there, but so far, their mind only rested on one problem; X.A.N.A.

The group figured this was about Katherine since they were placed in the back and Katherine was placed in the front. She hadn't done anything wrong, so why was she called up to the office?

Mr. Delmas shushed them all and pressed play on the record player. They all listened to what was playing and gasped.

"_At least you didn't tell Mr. Delmas that you got expelled for fighting."_

_"Yeah, good thing no one mentioned that to him."_

Mr. Delmas pushed the stop button and set the player on the desk. He tapped his fingers on the desk impatiently, waiting for some type of explanation. No one could think of one. The only thing crossing their minds was the question about who could have recorded that. Katherine's mind raced back to the event of Sissi randomly walking up to them and laughing.

_It must have been Sissi._

What was with that girl? What exactly was her problem?

"Mr. Delmas," Katherine started, walking up to his desk. "Sissi recorded this. She must have deleted some of the most important parts of that recording. I don't know why she's out to get us, but-"

"Spare me your excuses. My daughter is an excellent student, and she does not simply go off causing trouble around school. I have called your father and informed him of this, so he's on his way to pick you up. I suggest you go back up your belongings and go wait in the library with the others, who will be receiving five hours of detention," Mr. Delmas stated, turning to gym. "Jim, take these students to the library immediately," he ordered dismissively, focusing on his work. Jim forced everyone out of the room, muttering something under his breath.

"I always knew you kids were up to no good," Jim murmured loud enough for them to hear. "But I didn't think you'd go this far."

Jeremie threw his hands up in anger. "We didn't even do anything! If you could have just heard the entire story, then you would have second-thoughts about what you're doing!"

All of a sudden, Odd stopped abruptly in front of the administrative building, forcing everyone to plow into the back of him.

"Della Robbia! What is the meaning of-"

"I forgot to put on deodorant," Odd admitted, dramatically smelling his armpits with a grimace. Jim rolled his eyes and sighed. Odd could be a pig at times.

"That's disgusting, Della Robbia!" he exclaimed. "Go on to your room and take care of that. But be back in five minutes!"

Odd didn't hesitate as he fled from the group. He didn't really forget to put on deodorant; he just needed an excuse to go to Katherine's room. As tough as Jim was, he was extremely gullible.

Once he reached the dorm building, he ascended up the flight of stairs that led to the Girls' dorm. He then went stopped in front of Katherine's door and entered without knocking. When he went in, Katherine was halfway through packing, and her room looked cleared out. It was if she had never stayed in there.

"Hey, have you ever heard of knocking, scrawny boy?" she teased, putting on her best smile.

Odd grinned back and shouted, "I am _not _scrawny! I am _svelte_!" he corrected in a jokingly manner.

Katherine giggled and covered her mouth to contain the laughter. Odd smiled as he took her hand into his and pulled her up from her place on the floor. She blushed slightly and allowed him to do so.

"I don't want you to go," Odd acknowledged, a slight blush spreading across his cheeks. "It's not fair."

Katherine sighed and pecked Odd's cheek. "I know," she mumbled, looking down at the floor.

An idea dashed across Odd's head, but he knew he would be in _mega _trouble if he did it.

"Can we take one last walk in the park? I have to show you something," he asked.

Katherine pondered over it for a moment and shrugged. "Sure, but we can't walk for too long."

He then grabbed her hand and led her towards the park. He was going to do something very risky, and he was sure he would regret it. He was going to do the same thing Ulrich has done when he found out Yuma was going back to Japan. That's right, he was going to power on the supercomputer, scan Katherine so she could become immune to the return trips, and then he would launch a return to the past.

He knew it was stupid, but if was for a good cause. Maybe the group would even appreciate it if he had saved them from hours of detention.

He reached the manhole in the park and slid the lid off. Crawling inside, he told Katherine to follow him. She grimaced and shook her head.

"Why do you want me to go into the sewer? That's nasty," she said, crossing her arms. The look on Odd's face told her to hurry up, so she sighed in defeat and climbed inside. They dashed all the way to the transportations and Odd quickly hopped onto the skateboard. Katherine shot Odd a confusing glance before getting onto the skateboard.

"You want to go riding on skateboards and scooters?" she quizzed, raising an eyebrow.

"Just trust me! We don't have much time!" Odd exclaimed, setting off towards the factory with Katherine lingering behind.

They finally reached the factory and slid down the ropes. As they were getting closer and closer, Odd's heart began to thump out of his chest. He was unsure about this, but it seemed like the only solution to keep Katherine from getting expelled again.

They scurried into the elevator and pressed the 'Up' button, taking them upwards to the supercomputer room.

"Wow," Katherine whispered, glancing at the super computer. Odd lifted the lever up, turning it on. He then ran back to the elevator and pressed down, taking them to the scanner room. He pulled Katherine out of the elevator and gently placed her in the scanner.

"Please wait here and don't move," he pleaded while running to the elevator. He pressed the down button and brought himself to the lab. He went over to the computer and typed in some commands, causing the scanner door to shut.

Luckily, Jeremie had taught him how to use the computer, so it was a little easy for him.

"Okay, scanner, Katherine."

Katherine gasped as her hair shot upwards by the wind. She didn't know what was happening, so she closed her eyes. Suddenly, the scanner door opened and she ran out.

"Okay, Odd, time for the big leap." Odd typed in the commands and shouted, "Return to the past, now!" The world became engulfed in a bright, white light.


End file.
